Weekly spotlight on breeding

Breeding authority Peter Wharton presents all the harness racing news on breeding from Australia, New Zealand and North America every Friday brought to you by Garrard’s Horse & Hound.

Breeding of NSW Derby winner

The Brisbane colt Leap To Fame, who firmly clinched his claim to being the best three-year-old of the season when he won the $200,000 NSW Derby at Menangle, is a member of one of New Zealand’s top ranking standardbred families.

Leap To Fame, who has now won 11 of his 14 starts, is a grand looking colt by the Cam’s Card Shark horse Bettor’s Delight, the premier sire in North America, Australia and NZ last year.

Leap To Fame is out of a good racemare in Lettucereason 1:55.9 ($180,073), by Art Major from Left For Me (1:59), a Queensland bred mare by Fake Left from Our Lady Delwin NZ, by Lordship from the Armbro Del mare Del’s Dream, an Inter Dominion Consolation winner who founded a strong branch of the Eastern Lady family.

Left For Me was the dam of a top ranking pacer in For A Reason, winner of seven Group races including the Victoria Cup and NSW and Queensland Derbies and $1.1 million in stakes. Deadly Woman (1:55.6), a sister to For A Reason, was the dam of a smart racemare in Hot Shot Woman 1:52.1 ($170,263) and Mondooley Mach 1:58.5 ($103,740).

This is the family which produced the NSW Derby winner Beach Fighter, Allblack Stride (Bathurst Gold Crown), Brooklyn Bute (Vic. 4YO Bonanza), Double Dream (1:49.4), the Simpson Sprint winner Waldenburg, This Time Dylan and Bettor De Donna (1:49.6).

Leap To Fame was bred by well known Wagga horseman Paul Kahlefeldt, of Redbank Lodge Standardbreds.

Hat trick to Vintage Cheddar

Vintage Cheddar, who won his third race from as many starts on Australian soil in the Markovina Free-for-all at Melton, is regarded as cups material of the highest order.

A seven-year-old gelding by Betterthancheddar, Vintage Cheddar has a wealth of breeding on his dam’s side, being out of the Grinfromeartoear mare Howfarnow, a member of the prolific Maud (by Berlin) family.

Howfarnow, who was unraced, was a half-sister to the Menangle winner Mabrook 1:53.5 ($146,997), the Albion Park winner Rock Bottom 1:54.4 ($102,103), Skirmish (1:55.1) and to the dam of the exported Followthewind 1:51.8 ($209,482) and the Melton Listed winner Wingatui Dew 1:53.6 ($152,295).

Their dam, Whanau 1:57.1 ($137,726), a Group 1 winner at two, was a half-sister to a capable WA pacer in Future Assets 1:56.3 ($152,400) and the Nyah Cup winner Strauss 1:57.6 ($160,611), being out of Lento 1:56.4 ($272,110), a fine racemare who was also the dam of the good Gloucester Park victor Our Toto 1:58.4 ($107,952) and Vivaldi, a winner in 1:53.8 in America.

Vintage Cheddar is the first of the produce of Howfarnow to win.

Cup winner by Changeover

A bright future is being predicted for the Changeover six-year-old Holy Basil, whose success in the Carrick was his seventh winning run from eight starts.

He has a good deal in his favour on the score of blood. Apart from being by Changeover, the former NZ champion who is now standing at Burwood Stud in Queensland, Holy Basil is out of the Artiscape mare Artistic Lass from Lassiter Franco, a half-sister to the Queensland Christmas Cup winner Franco Liberty 1:57.7 ($188,099), being out of Liberty Franco, by Holmes Hanover from the Nero’s B B mare Looks The Part and tracing to the imported mare Norice, whose family today is one of the best in the NZ stud book.

Close relatives to Holy Basil include the Breeders Crown and Bendigo Cup winner Wolf Stride (1:49.1), Lilac Stride (Breeders Crown 4YO Final), Cherry Stride (1:51.2), Lewinsky Franco (NZ Leonard Memorial), Soho Tsunami (1:51.8) and To Fast To Serious (WA Westbred 2YO Classic).

Premiere Stakes winner

Ambiguous, the winner of the $24,000 Premiere Stakes, the first two-year-old classic held in Victoria this season, is a close relative of the Hunter Cup winner Paris Affair.

A graduate of the 2021 Australian Pacing Gold Melbourne sale, Ambiguous is a well developed gelding by Sportswriter from Show Me Amber, the dam of the recent Menangle winner I Am Marquez (1:51.5) and October Reign (1:52.3).

Their dam, Show Me Amber (1:58.7), was an Armbro Operative mare from Show Me Paris, by Walton Hanover from Tarlina, by Tarport Skipper. Ambiguous can claim a doubling of Big Towner blood in his pedigree, through both Dominique Semalu (grand-dam of Sportswriter) and Walton Hanover (sire of his grand-dam).

Show Me Amber was a half-sister to a handy pacer in Paris Angel (1:59), who won eight races.

The family, which traces to Phyllis (by Berlin), produced a top flight pacer in Paris Affair, who won 17 races including the 1999 A. G. Hunter Cup, and others in Hombre Higgins, who won 36 races including the E. K. Bray Country Clubs Cup, Hippie Chick and Rocknroll Highlight.

Ambiguous was bred by Pamela Milne.

Star mare by Tintin In America

A double winner at the Carnival of Miracles at Menangle was the Perth owned mare Smooth Rye, who is expected to graduate far beyond her present rating.

A five-year-old, she showed up last season as a four-year-old above average when she won seven races including Gloucester Park.

Smooth Rye is by a talented pacer and Breeders Crown champion in Tintin In America from the American-bred Rye Hanover, the best of whose several progeny has been the cup class pacer Blazin N Cullen 1:50.8 ($576,352).

Rye Hanover ranks as a three-quarter sister to a champion colt pacer and sire in Rocknroll Hanover, being by Western Hanover from Rich N Elegant, by Direct Scooter from Proven Perfect, by Abercrombie. Rye Hanover was 18 when she left Smooth Rye.

Close relatives win at Melton

Beach Life and Go Dancing, who won at Melton last Saturday, both belong to the same family.

Beach Life, a three-year-old filly by Somebeachsomewhere, is out of a fine racemare in Lovelist 1:53.2 ($222,889), the dam also of The Allwood and dual Southern Cross winner Treachery 1:57.3 ($174,919) and Adapt (1:53.7).

Lovelist, a winner of three Group races, was by Always A Virgin from Lifeline, by Classic Garry from Larrakeyah Lady, by Windshield Wiper from the Mark Lobell mare Hot Foot, who founded a very successful branch of the Trix Pointer tribe.

Go Dancing, a four-year-old by A Rocknroll Dance, is from the Victoria Oaks placegetter Celebrity Guest (1:55.2), by Mach Three from Celebrity Ball, a Presidential Ball half-sister to Lifeline, the grand-dam of Beach Life.

Other members of this family have been Ride High (1:49), the Hunter Cup winner Safe And Sound, Major Secret (NSW Derby), The Good Times, Perfect Major and so on.

Miracle Moose bred to be good

Miracle Moose confirmed his status as one of the best pacers in WA today when he took out the Free-for-all at Gloucester Park last Friday.

It was his second win at the Perth headquarters’ track this season. A month earlier he beat all but Wildwest in the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup.

Miracle Moose has not done a great deal of racing, having averaged 11 starts a season. In five seasons of racing Miracle Moose has won 16 races and has been 17 times placed from 54 starts for $258,772 in stakes.

By the deceased Matt’s Scooter horse Mach Three, he is out of a cup class mare in Minnie Moose 1:55.9 ($140,958), by Bettor’s Delight from Magic Moose, by Holmes Hanover from Our Lady El, by El Patron.

Miracle Moose is a half-brother to the Ashburton and Invercargill Cups winner Funatthebeach 1:50 ($316,294).

Credit Master has strong bloodlines

Credit Master, the longshot winner of the Group 1 Trotters Mile at Menangle, who had shown marked ability in NZ where he won twice in Free-for-all company, is an eight-year-old trotter of some potential.

He has an all-American breeding background and one which has been most successful. By Muscle Mass (son of Muscles Yankee), he is out of the Credit Winner mare Jessica’s Credit, who was bred and raced in America and shipped down to NZ as a five-year-old.

Besides Credit Master, who has won 13 races, Jessica’s Credit is also the dam of the dual NZ winner Miss Jessica.

Jessica’s Credit was out of Armbro Vivian, dam also of the USA Stakes winner Frank The Hands 1:57.2 ($322,938), being by Garland Lobell from the Dream Of Glory mare Armbro Barb, a half-sister to a top American juvenile trotter in Homesick.

By Peter Wharton for Harnesslink